The Draft Powys Sustainable Resource Strategy 2025-2030

As a county we have made significant progress in reducing the amount of waste we produce whilst increasing the amount we recycle. Between 2013/14 and 2022/23, our recycling rate increased from 52.5% to its current level of 68.1%, and the total waste produced reduced by over 24,000 tonnes during the same period.

Despite good progress, we must take action to do more. As we look ahead, we continue to face a number of challenges, including our response to the global climate crisis, and a need to reduce our impacts on the environment so that it is preserved for future generations.

We must also ensure we work efficiently within our financial resources, continue to meet statutory recycling targets and are aligned with the council's climate emergency declaration to reduce our emissions to net zero by 2030 and limit our impact on the natural environment.

Whilst we provide a comprehensive recycling service, currently 45% of the materials being placed in the black wheeled bins and purple sacks are items that could be recycled using our existing services. This is not only a waste of resources and the associated energy that was used to create them but recycling these items would support our efforts to move to a sustainable circular economy approach, increase our recycling rate to beyond the statutory target of 70% and save on unnecessary recovery and disposal costs.

As part of the council-wide approach known as Sustainable Powys, we aim to deliver quality services for our communities which need to be affordable for residents (through payment of council tax), and affordable for us to deliver and sustain for future generations. Services also need to be delivered in a way which helps reduce our carbon emissions to net zero by 2030.

The Sustainable Resource Strategy considers all these challenges and sets out our aims for supporting residents, business, and the wider community to reduce their impact on the local environment, lower their carbon footprint and help Powys move towards a sustainable circular economy.

When developing strategies, it is important to involve our stakeholders in the process. This twelve-week public engagement exercise will seek views from residents, members, partner organisations and workplaces on the draft policy.

We are particularly keen to find out how people currently reduce, reuse and recycle their waste. We would also like to know how people would like to be supported by the council to reduce more of their waste, reuse more items and recycle more in the future. It is also important that we find out if people agree with the draft strategy’s priorities and if there is anything else people could suggest to help us reduce our environmental impact, lower our carbon footprint, move towards a sustainable circular economy and ensure a greener future for all.

Our stakeholders’ voices will help ensure the strategy is clear, comprehensive, feasible, and supported by the community and influence future decisions and service provision across Powys.

Following the engagement exercise the draft Sustainable Resource Strategy will be amended accordingly and taken back to the Cabinet for approval.

Have your say

You can leave your feedback online through our survey below by clicking the blue 'COMPLETE FORM' button.

Paper versions of this consultation and form are available to download and print here or you can pick one up from libraries across Powys, please ask a member of staff for a copy.

The closing date to provide us with your feedback is Friday 4 April 2025.